The present disclosure relates to scheduling print jobs. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to scheduling non-essential print jobs to be processed at a time when the cost of electricity is not at its peak.
Many office devices such as printers, copiers and multifunction devices (e.g., a single device capable of scanning, printing, faxing and/or copying) utilize a printer driver and printer queue for processing any incoming print jobs. For example, when a user wishes to print a document, the user accesses the printer driver via their computer, typically via a graphical interface such as selecting print via a drop down menu in an application. Once the user confirms they would like to print a specific document or job, the job is sent to the printer queue. Here, the print job waits until the printer is able to process and print the queued print job. Generally, a printer queue functions using a first in first out (FIFO) scheduling scheme. Individual print jobs are processed and printed in the order they are received and enter the print queue. Some print systems allow a user to assign a priority to a print job, e.g., a high priority document to be printed immediately. A print job with an assigned priority may be moved to the front of the printer queue, bypassing any print jobs with a lower (or no assigned) priority already in the printer queue.
In a typical office environment, only a portion of print jobs are for immediate use. The remaining print jobs are documents that are being printed in advance of the documents being needed, such as an employee printing a large set of documents for review the next day. These documents are often given no priority, and are processed by the printer driver through the printer queue according to the standard FIFO scheduling scheme.